Whooping cough: Mum gets immunised

With three children and one on the way,
getting the free whooping cough booster vaccination was a
no-brainer for Tauranga mum Jamie-Lee MacInnes.

“I’ve got two pre-schoolers to run around after,
life’s busy. The last thing I need is having a sick baby
with whooping cough, when I can easily reduce the risk and
protect my baby by being immunised.”

The number of
people with whooping cough increased across the Bay of
Plenty last year (up 61 from 2015. Ten were babies (who are
most at risk of complication) and 11 were young children
aged from one to four years old. And already this year small
children have been admitted to hospital with the
disease.

“In the first seven weeks of 2017 we’ve
been notified of seven cases of whooping cough in the Bay of
Plenty, two of these are babies. We’re not off to a good
start,” says Toi Te Ora – Public Health Service Medical
Officer of Health, Dr Phil Shoemack.

Whooping cough
is a highly infectious and distressing illness caused by
bacteria that are spread by coughing and sneezing in the
same way as colds and influenza. Symptoms start with a
runny nose, fever and dry cough. Coughing gets worse over
the next few weeks developing into attacks of coughing and
sometimes vomiting. The ‘whoop’ sound occurs as a baby
draws a breath after a long coughing attack. Babies under
one year are most at risk of serious complications from the
illness such as pneumonia and brain damage.

Pregnant women can get a whooping cough booster
vaccination for free, between 28 and 38 weeks of pregnancy.
This is the time when she can pass her immunity on to the
baby, helping protect them until they are old enough to be
vaccinated against whooping cough themselves as part of
their free childhood immunisation at 6 weeks, 3 months and 5
months old.

Jamie-Lee had her whooping cough booster
vaccination through immunisations services provided by the
Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation (PHO).

Diane Newland, Immunisation Coordinator says women
should talk to their family GP practice about the Boostrix
vaccine and when it is the right time to have this. “Staff
there will also be able to talk about immunisations for your
baby and the importance of getting these on time at 6 weeks,
3 months and 5 months old.”

“With children now
back at school and preschool, it’s a good time to check
your family is up to date with all immunisations. If a
scheduled immunisation has been missed, or you are unsure
whether a family member is immunised, contact your family
doctor or practice nurse. It’s never too late to catch
up,” says Dr Shoemack.

Immunising against
whooping cough during pregnancy protects about 90% of babies
in their first few weeks of life.

Adults who are in
contact with babies under 12 months of age should also
consider getting the whooping cough booster vaccination for
babies protection.

Factbox

Whooping cough
can be very serious for babies and children – especially
those under 1 year old. If babies catch whooping cough,
they:

•May not be able to feed or breathe
properly.•May become so ill they need to go to
hospital.•Could end up with serious complications such
as pneumonia and brain damage.

If you have
questions, talk to your midwife, doctor or practice nurse or
call the free helpline 0800 IMMUNE (0800 466
863).

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